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The main characters in The Honeymooners were the prototypes for the main characters in The Flintstones.

The Honeymooners originated as a recurring skit on the Jackie Gleason Show and ran for just one season beginning in late 1955. It featured two couples in New York City — Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) and Alice Kramden (Audrey Meadows) along with their friends and neighbors Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Trixie Norton (Joyce Randolph).

These four characters later became the prototypes for the four main characters in The Flintstones, an animated series set in the Stone Age that aired from 1960 to 1966. The couples on The Flintstones were Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Barney and Betty Rubble. Much of the humor was based on comic portrayals of modern conveniences, such as foot-powered stone cars.

Jackie Gleason briefly considered suing Hannah-Barbera (the production company) after the debut of The Flintstones since the similarities between the characters of both shows were undeniable. Gleason believed Hannah-Barbera had stolen his creative property and wanted either fair compensation or the cartoon show's producers to cease and desist. However, Gleason's attorney talked him out of taking legal action, saying, "Do you really want to be remembered by history as the man who killed Fred Flintstone?"

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